Tag Archives: women’s fiction

Hi there, cozy mystery lovers, for Ellie Campbell (and hopefully the rest of you) 2018 is already starting with a roar. We have a fantastic giveaway for you below but first a little update on our eventful, often crazy, lives.

No sooner were the Christmas decorations put away than Pam (confirmed non-skier) was off to Val D’Isere with the family, visiting her chef son Alex in the French Alps, experiencing snow, blizzards, dog sledding huskies and all the dangers of some luscious French cuisine.

Meanwhile Lorraine was fulfilling a lifetime dream of a Tanzanian safari, tenting it under starry African skies, cruising in an open jeep through Tarangire National Park, Ngorangoro Crater, the Serengeti and Ruaha, snapping photos of lions, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, antelope and of course elephants. The big boy above decided our Land Cruiser was going to move or he was coming in the vehicle with us! He literally could have touched us.

And of course there was no strolling far from our tents at night for fear of meeting these handsome but deadly characters What do they have in common with our cozy mystery giveaway? Well, they may all look like pussycats but you never know when one of them will turn into a natural born killer.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome the fabulous Ellie Campbell (aka Lorraine and Pam) to Bookaholic Confessions today. Ellie Campbell is a new author to me but I am massively excited about reading Million Dollar Question, which sounds amazing. I had a great time chatting to the two ladies behind Ellie Campbell and learning just how they go about the writing process and where the idea of a pseudonym originated from…

Hi Pam and Lorraine (aka Ellie Campbell!), a big warm welcome to Bookaholic Confessions! Thank you so much for participating in this interview. Would you like to start by introducing yourselves…?

Hi, I’m Lorraine, I’m the elder of the two sisters, and after years of wandering the world, footloose and free, I’ve somehow landed on a 10 acre ranch in beautiful Boulder, Colorado with my husband, horses, cats, dog, and chickens. I’m addicted to books and when not reading, writing or trail riding, I’m volunteer at my favourite horse rescue Zuma’s, working with abused horses or untouched mustangs, (two of whom I’ve ended up bringing home.) Every day is an adventure and I feel incredibly lucky to be living my dream.

And I’m Pam, the baby of the family, although rumours of me being spoilt are greatly exaggerated. I moved from London to a small town in Surrey with my husband when my three children were small. I love the countryside and growing vegetables in our allotment (community garden). I still work part-time at a local college and at least once a year I am a reluctant participant of marathon fundraising bicycle rides across Europe on the back of my husband’s bone-shaking tandem, cycling to Paris, Gibraltar, Brussels, Barcelona, Montpelier, etc. braving mountain ranges and blazing sun, although to be honest I would just as soon be sitting on a beach or at home watching movies with a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine.

Can you tell us a bit about your new novel, Million Dollar Question (released 25th April 2015)?

It’s a story of luck and coincidence (and of course money). Of our two heroines, one is a ruined by a scandal that takes her from wealth and privilege to broke and homeless. The other, a divorced mother pining for her ex, suddenly wins a million pounds and has to face the pitfalls that come with that. As the novel progresses, their paths entwine and it turns out they have A LOT in common. It’s possibly the most romantic of our novels and quite a bit of it takes place in London and the Isle of Skye, two of our favourite places.

You’ve written five fabulous novels together now and you must get asked this questions LOADS of times, so I apologise in advance! How does the writing process work between the two of you?

It does vary a bit with each book but usually we will thrash out the storyline and characters with phone calls and emails and then each picks chapters to work on. It’s easier with books like Million Dollar Question, which has two simultaneous stories. We send the pages to each other for editing and reworking and we end up with a master document going back and forth, getting changed along the way. (It has also happened that one of us gets a burst of creativity and has quite a bit of the novel written before the other comes in to strengthen the story and develop the characters further.) We add in humour or suggest twists, we come up with new ideas, clean up sentences, rewrite segments, and generally do anything we think might improve the book. The first draft is inevitably too long and we both cut like crazy, catching typos and mistakes along the way. There’s usually a few rewrites, then one of us does the final run-through before it goes to our proof-reader. We’re pretty well matched in all aspects, writing, ideas, characters, dialogue. And we go over the manuscript so much that our writing really gets blended. We do sound alike anyway and we share a similar sense of humour. It’s like siblings telling stories of their childhood. Sometimes it’s hard to remember who did what.

Do you always agree on storylines and character traits or do you ever have any disagreements?

Well, it’s not always easy writing together. You have to be flexible. Sometimes you have an unspoken idea of how a scene or character should progress and the way your partner writes it is completely different so you have to rearrange your thinking. That can be a good surprise or a not-so-good one. Sometimes you have a knee-jerk reaction against a new suggestion that veers dramatically from what’s been discussed or what you’ve envisaged. Neither of us will force an idea but we’ll sure as hell argue our point. Luckily, once we’ve had a chance to cool down and reflect, we almost always see the value in each other’s suggestions and realize what we’ve been arguing against is actually quite brilliant. It adds a bit of extra spice to the writing process. And we have a rule that if one of us hates something, it’s out. It’s a collaborative effort. We both have to like everything and we both have to do what’s best for the book.

How did the idea come about for you to write novels together under a pseudonym?

We were each separately writing and selling our own short stories with a longer novel in the works. But one day when chatting, we discovered we both wanted to write a story about four sisters and use some of our own (shared) family experiences as inspiration. We were already giving each other feedback on a regular basis, helping out when one of us got stuck. So writing it together seemed logical, saved us fighting over who got to do it. And we felt it would be a fun project, which it was. Then we got a two book contract so we had to write a second one together. And here we are.

Do either of you think you’d ever write a novel alone?

It could happen. We’ve both written independently and we could do again, especially if one of us wanted to move on to a different genre or a very personal project. What the writing partnership gives us is encouragement and confidence and a helping hand when you’ve tied yourself into some corner and can’t see where to go next. It’s almost like having a creative editor looking over your shoulder. We both value each other’s opinions so even if we were writing our own novels, I think we might end up asking for feedback as we went along.

How do you go about doing the relevant research for your novels?

We write mostly from our own life experiences and knowledge, we talk to people, and then of course the internet has an amazing amount of information which we make full use of. We read a lot too although I can’t say we spend entire days in library – our books don’t usually demand it. Alas, so far we’ve never followed anyone like a cop or a fireman around for a day, absorbing their life style – I’ve a feeling even if we were writing about someone like that, we’d be too chicken to ask. We’re actually quite shy.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication?

We’d each sold over 70 short stories before we wrote How To Survive Your Sisters. Lorraine had started selling them when working in publishing, in a literary agency then for Woman magazine. Then when she was backpacking in South America, Pam was at home with kids and for fun took a bunch of creative writing classes, then started submitting to magazines. When we wrote that first novel together, we sent it out to an agent, Caroline Hardman, who was just starting to build a client list. (We were her first clients.) We got a two book contract from Arrow Books, Random House, but when the economy started to affect publishing, we decided to go the indie route with our third novel Looking for La La. We were so green. We had no idea of promotion, reviews, Facebook or Twitter – the Arrow publicist had handled everything. So we realized we had to learn fast if our books weren’t going to sink without a trace. We are still with our agent but we reverted the rights to our first two novels so we could self-publish globally.

Who are your favourite authors and what kind of books do you both enjoy reading?

And finally – can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment?

We’re working on a third novel in the Crouch End Confidential series which started with Looking For La La and followed on with To Catch A Creeper. The books could best be described as chicklit mysteries with Cathy, our crazy housewife and wanna-be sleuth, getting herself into all kinds of tangled situations, both domestic and more dangerous as well. We keep writing about her because she’s so much fun.

A huge thank you to Pam and Lorraine for taking part in this interview. ♥

Yes, we’re so excited about this funny, romantic chicklit novel – one reviewer calls it ‘the sweetest Ellie Campbell book yet’ – that we are offering it for the official LAUNCH WEEK ONLY for the special Kindle sale price of 99 cents (US) and equivalent elsewhere. Promotion starts on 27th April. But if you just can’t wait go ahead and buy it now.

It’s a tale of money, luck, coincidence and, of course, romance, as New Yorker, Olivia Wheeler is ejected from wealth and success to bankruptcy and shame just as struggling impoverished single-mother Rosie Dixon wins an unexpected million pounds. What do these two women have in common? And how will they survive their unexpected change of fortune? That is the million dollar question!

Advance Reviews:

“A well written story of love, loss, redemption, life altering decisions and secrets revealed. The twists, turns, drama and ultimately secrets made this a true five star read. I strongly recommend Million Dollar Question to all.”

‘This book is certainly a million dollar laugh–Ellie Campbell always has a magical way of producing a book that elicits hours of laughter and glee in her books from her readers and this one is no different!’Booknatics.

Want to help us make this book a bestseller? Tell your friends or share the news on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks for your wonderful support! We’re celebrating madly as you can imagine!

What’s this – a chicklit cover without a chick? Or a pair of high heels? Or a beautiful landscape? Yes, we went a completely different direction on this one with our paparazzi snapping pictures over the fence which is funny because Million Dollar Question is possibly one of our most romantic novels to date. But we just loved the whole look that Design For Writers came up with. Think those clouds are fluffy enough that it won’t be mistaken for a thriller and the book definitely has its gritty urban elements. (It also features the Isle of Skye which is as romantic as settings get.) What do you think? We’d love to hear your opinions.

Ta ra ta ra – drum roll please.

Yes, it is a book about luck, coincidence, money and scandals… which is where that paparazzi fellow comes in. (He looks a bit like the Cadbury’s Milk Tray man – or maybe that’s my chocolate obsession again.) We’re excited because we love this story of two very different women – one who loses everything and one who wins a million. If you want to be the first to know when it hits Amazon.com, sign up for our newsletter. Hint: It’s gonna be soon.

All through school, tomboy Jen, snobby Georgina, hippy Meg and gentle Rowan, were inseparable. Until, that is, the unfortunate consequences of a childish prank tore them apart. As adults an attempted reunion went disastrously wrong. Rowan failed to appear. Meg behaved outrageously and – sharpest cut of all – Jen discovered just how deeply Georgina had betrayed her.

So now, a mother herself, in the midst of divorce, the last thing Jen needs is a call from Meg. Or is it? Will Meg’s strange mission to track down the missing Rowan re-open old wounds or is it a chance to heal the rift – or to recover Jen’s never-forgotten, first true love? As their quest unearths secrets and feelings best left buried, Jen, Meg and Georgina will be tested on love, loyalty, and friendship, discover the truth about Rowan – and wake a danger that threatens them all.

Reviews: ‘An engaging story about the bonds of friendship stretching over 12 years, by the sister duo who gave us How to Survive Your Sisters’BOOKSELLER‘When Good Friends Go Bad really was a fabulous novel and I wholly recommend you read it’Chicklit Reviews and NewsEditorial Reviews
‘Quirky and intriguing and kept me interested throughout… all the key ingredients for a gripping read: love and lust are angling for room with an unsolved mystery, lots of juicy secrets (old and new) and a nice bit of suspense and surprise towards the end.’The Bookbag‘Excellent fun book’Wilovebooks‘Quirky humor, crazy personalities, zany situations…This book has it all’ Table4Two5 stars. ‘Would I recommend? YES!‘Arlena, Night Owl Reviews‘Will make you Laugh, Cringe, and Wonder!’ MikiHope

Hooray, it’s February and Amazon Australia has decided AGAIN to promote How To Survive Your Sisters, Looking For La La and To Catch A Creeper. Also Amazon UK is also doing a 99 pence sale with Sisters. Pam and I are busy with Twitter and Facebook, trying to spread the word. And I’ve been nominated to update the blog.

So once again the day is sliding away from me. Admittedly I sometimes have a little trouble with time management. There may be two of us writing, but at least one of us can always find a million distractions.

Seriously intended to write beaucoup pages this weekend until I had an emergency call telling me to bring my horse trailer because 23 horses had to be rescued from feed lot before they were shipped to a kill auction.

Of course same estimated 2 hour rescue operation turned out to occupy 3 days, including repairing fences in temporary field, and moving horses yet again two days later. Great sense of personal satisfaction but not a lot of time left for writing. And yes, now that they’re safely installed at Zumas Rescue Ranch they will need training…and homes.

My own lovely horses are galloping around, just outside the window, playing in the snow. Is there any sight more beautiful than that? What, you expect me to be staring at a computer screen? It’s all I can do not to run out there and join them. Besides it’s imperative I watch and see no one gets kicked.

Long, long phone conversation – all work-related of course – with writing partner, Pam, who has finished for the day, thanks to 7 hour time difference, and is probably sitting with feet up and a glass of wine. Well, actually she claims she’s working like a dog till midnight, answering our chicklit sisters email, and contacting promo sites for our future book launch. But then sometimes I’m incredibly productive too. I remember there was that time back in…

I need to check my email, Facebook and Twitter and then Google something amazingly trivial. By the time I load up tweetdeck, pick up a package from the post office, (hopefully the saddle I bought on ebay) and drive to the ranch store for horse feed, I’ll be lucky to get any words on pages, except perhaps for this long overdue post.

Remy, the wonder dog, wants to go for walk. And I did make that resolution about keeping fit. 10,000 steps, I think it was. Probably got another 9,400 to go. Besides I do have those errands to run.

Cat keeps walking all over the computer keyboard, demanding to be petted. Which reminds me her litter box needs cleaning.

The kitchen is a mess. And while I am tidying it, I might as well have a snack/lunch/coffee/tea.

The laundry basket is overflowing. I’ll be able to concentrate much better without that nudging persistently at the back of my mind.

The feed tubs and water tanks absolutely HAVE to be filled before it freezes tonight. Likewise the chicken’s water. And there’s manure to scoop. Might as well start feeding all the animals now.

Husband arrives home early, wanting to know what’s for dinner. (Good question.) And why I’m eternally tapping on the computer, filling up Buffer, and ignoring him. Must be time for a glass of wine. And maybe an early night, yawn, yawn. After all I did get up at 5.30 so I could cram it all in. Just let me quickly check this one thing on Google.

Oops, it’s midnight. And I didn’t even ride my horse or get a useable paragraph out of the day. But seriously intend to write beaucoup pages tomorrow…

Given my ability to procrastinate, it’s frankly amazing that we actually have a new novel, Million Dollar Question, coming out this year – and you’ll hear more about that soon, I promise.

But all that said, the good news is that three of our books are once again rapidly rising up the Australian Amazon charts… Will they do as well as last time? We have our fingers crossed… Ah, well back to Twitter.